Golf and tracks teams proving dominant in league play, their performances jaw-droppingly impressive at times Though Spring Break forces a late start to the Town of Webb sports schedule and frequently causes disadvantages for our school, the Varsity Golf team bucked that trend with extreme prejudice last week.
Not only did they make up for lost time with a bear of a schedule, but did so with great success.
Their season officially got underway on Monday, May 2 as they hosted Adirondack and West Canada at Thendara Golf Course.
A squad that returns a host of talented athletes had little difficulty in dispatching their foes, as the Eskimos posted a team score of 161.
West Canada was the runner-up with a 199, followed by Adirondack’s 205.
Medalist Damon Kull led the way with a one-over-par 37. Colin Criss also had a fine outing with a 39.
Those scores were combined with those of Devin Daiker (42) and Ben Hannah (43) for the remarkable four-player total of 161.
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Next up, on Thursday, May 5, the team traveled to the Shamrock course to take on host Oriskany.
Adirondack was also present but, as you may be aware, the visiting teams compete against the home team only, while the host actually vies against all entrants.
Once again, Old Forge ran away with the win, showing great consistency in tallying a 163 team score.
Oriskany managed a 209, and Adirondack came up with a 216.
Kull, with a 38, medaled for the second straight time, followed by Criss (39), Hannah (43), and Daiker (43).
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It was back to Thendara on Friday, May 6, with Poland and Remsen in Old Forge’s crosshairs.
Many had expressed the opinion that Remsen’s Rams could be the frontrunners in the CSC North Division, a presumption that the Eskimos quickly put an end to.
Maintaining their poise, the squad put up another fine score of 163, dominating both Remsen (192) and Poland (240).
This time, however, it was Criss who took top honors as the medalist with a 39.
Daiker and Kull each posted a 41, with Hannah right on their heels at 42.
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Finally, on Saturday May 7, they were off to the par 71 Hidden Valley course for the Warrior Classic, hosted by Whitesboro.
This time, though, they would face 18 holes, as well as having team totals based on the top five scores rather than the top four.
Facing much larger schools, the Eskimos did themselves proud in finishing sixth out of a field of nine with Whitesboro winning it all.
Criss had the top score for Old Forge with a 78, placing him ninth overall. Kull wound up with an 85, a score that would have been much lower if not for one bad hole that got the better of him. Anyone who’s ever placed a tee certainly knows that feeling!
Hannah (92), Daiker (93), and Lexie Haehl (94) rounded out the team scoring and, undoubtedly, the entire team has to be feeling pretty good about winding up their first full week of action undefeated in League play.
Boys Varsity Baseball
Also facing a hectic week was the baseball team, who had four games on their schedule, starting with Rome Catholic on Monday, May 2.
Unfortunately, this was one of those games that the guys would probably rather erase from the memory banks as their opponents ran out to an insurmountable lead early on, winning a game that was called due to darkness after five innings.
Things took a turn for the better as the Eskimos hosted Poland on Thursday, May 5. Their first victory of the season wouldn’t come easily, though as a 7–3 lead was squandered when the visitors managed four runs in the top of the seventh to send the contest into extra innings.
There, Poland would manage a single run, but Kyle Kratzenberg answered with a timely hit that put it away for the home team.
PJ Perkins worked five solid innings, giving up only three runs while racking up seven strike-outs.
Garrett Pavlus came on in relief and struck out three more batters, eventually earning the win.
The bats really came alive in this game, with Austin Down and Kratzenberg each getting four hits.
Parker Clemans added two more, knocking in four runs along the way, with Mike Salsbury and Griffin Kleps also getting into the flow with a hit apiece.
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On Friday, May 6, Kratzen-berg, Salsbury, and Greg Hunkins shared pitching duties against another strong foe, Oriskany.
Despite remarkably similar statistics in terms of hits, Old Forge went on to lose 21-5.
Things were a bit ragged when it came to defense, combining with a number of walks that spelled disaster in the end.
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Wrapping up their week, the guys traveled to New York Mills on Saturday, May 8, only to meet a similar fate. The combination of playing their third game in as many days along with a thin roster made the task of staying with Mills all but impossible.
Despite the 16–1 loss, several players managed hits, including Hunkins (the team’s only RBI), Salsbury (a double), and Dan Heroux (2 singles).
Perkins, Kleps, and Andy Slegaitis chipped in with a single each.
Girls Varsity Softball
Not to be outdone, the girls actually took part in five contests—with four of them played over a three day span. Holy cow… I hope they took their vitamins!
On Monday, May 2, the ladies hosted Rome Catholic in what turned out to be an exciting game with the fans getting their money’s worth.
At the top of the list was an inside-the-park home run by Andrea Frey that was a big part of a 13 run outburst over the course of the first three innings.
Jessica Menges had a great outing on the mound, shutting the opposition down over the last three innings and leading her team to a 14–9 victory.
Their next foe would be found down the road in Poland on Thursday, May 5.
Playing two five-inning contests that day, the Eskimos found themselves on the short end of the stick although, to be fair, the girls were right there in the first game, losing 4–2.
The second round of the double header wasn’t quite so close as the Tornadoes got rolling and walked off with an 8–1 win.
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On Friday, May 6, things would go from bad to worse as a superior Oriskany team came a-calling. Sometimes you just run into a buzzsaw (ask the Los Angeles Lakers what that feels like) and the opponents looked like they’d just had their teeth sharpened, cruising to a 15–0 win.
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Finally, wrapping up a difficult week for the girls, came a trip to New York Mills on Saturday, May 7.
Mills is another top-tier squad that held Old Forge to a single run while putting up 17 of their own.
Make no mistake, though. This is a young squad, as we have chronicled before, with no seniors on board. There has been no finger-pointing or attitude issues despite the difficulties.
These girls are to be credited for their willingness to fight through the fact that they have a short roster and are facing tougher, more experienced teams time and again. Don’t worry, ladies. It’ll come, and we’re all rooting for ya’ regardless of the score.
Boys & Girls Varsity Track
Well, as long as they had identical schedules, why not report their results together?
It all started at the annual CUPPS Relay Meet at Morrisville-Eaton on Monday, May 2.
Rather than listing the boys’ amazing accomplishments individually, we’re going to take the easy route.
In the end, all you need to know is that they won all but four events outright, and placed quite well in the ones they didn’t claim first in.
If that isn’t impressive enough, I just don’t know what these guys would have to do to get a tip of the cap. After all, this was easily the most dominating effort ever put forth by the Eskimos at this event… one which had opposing coaches and athletes alike shaking their heads in disbelief.
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Meanwhile, the girls more than held their own as well. Caitlyn Bailey and Jessica Hannah, for example, won the 2 X 100 high hurdles in 38.1 seconds.
Placing second in the distance medley relay were Lauren Holt, Megan Greene, Taylor Payne, and Maddie Phaneuf.
Also coming in second were Ada Rannels, Hallie Christodaro, Sarah Branch, and Daria Orekhov in the Throwers Special 4 X 100.
Yet another high placement (second) went to Bailey, Maggie Queen, Alexandra Evans, and Phaneuf in the sprint medley relay.
It will be a day long remembered by Old Forge track and field fans as both squads made indelible marks.
Their week ended with a trip to Waterville on Wednesday, May 4 where the guys continued their winning ways with ease, beating both Waterville and Owen D. Young.
The girls also had a solid outing, including two double-winners, although no team scores were kept.
And while we don’t have much from last Friday’s Oneida Invitational, we do know that Maddie Phaneuf broke the school record in the 3,000 with a time of 11:17.9 and Lauren Holt tied for fifth place in the high jump with a personal best of 4’8″.
Best wishes to all our athletes as they head into the heart of their schedules.
